Players Who Cannot Be Offered Arbitration
Last offseason, agents negotiated four contracts known to include the bonus of prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if the player received Type A status. Aside from Orlando Hudson, none of the four came close to Type A (Hudson was a B). In general, none of the 14 Type As who were offered arbitration in November saw their market adversely affected, though Jason Frasor and Frank Francisco played it safe and accepted. It was thought that Grant Balfour might have a hard time finding a deal, but the Athletics inked him for two years and $8.1MM.
Three contracts signed this winter prevent the team from offering arbitration if the player is a Type A at the end of the term:
- Javier Vazquez, ACES. The Yankees may have been counting on snagging a draft pick upon Vazquez's departure, but he slipped to Type B with a lousy 2010. If Vazquez pushes himself back to A status with a strong season for the Marlins, they won't be able to offer arbitration.
- Kevin Correia, Lapa/Leventhal. This agency snagged the "no arbitration offer" clause for Justin Duchscherer last offseason as well. Correia signed a two-year deal with the Pirates, so this clause applies to the 2012-13 offseason. More importantly, Correia has a million bucks in incentives for '12.
- Carl Pavano, O'Connell Sports Management. As a Type B after the '09 season, Pavano accepted the Twins' arbitration offer and took the one-year deal. He moved up to a Type A this winter, and the draft pick cost possibly did give a few teams pause. After the '12 season, Pavano will not be saddled with that cost.
- The contract was negotiated six years ago, but Scott Boras client Carlos Beltran can't be offered arbitration after '11. Beltran was pretty close to Type A for 2009-10 despite playing in only 145 games over that span. Given his $18.5MM salary the arbitration offer question is probably moot for the Mets anyway.
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Cubs Sign Braden Looper, Augie Ojeda
MONDAY: Looper's deal pays him $1MM if he makes the team and includes about $2MM more in incentives, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
THURSDAY: The Cubs signed righty Braden Looper and infielder Augie Ojeda to minor league deals today, the team announced in a press release.
Looper, 36, last pitched for the Brewers in 2009. He threw for the Cubs before the 2010 season, but ultimately decided to sit out. Looper converted to starting in 2007, making 97 starts over a three-year span. He limits walks and keeps the ball on the ground fairly well, and could find innings with the Cubs if one of their starting five gets injured.
Ojeda, 36, broke into the Majors in 2000 with the Cubs. He's also served as a middle infield backup for the Twins and Diamondbacks. Ojeda was non-tendered by Arizona at the December deadline after earning $825K in 2010.
In total the Cubs invited 21 non-roster players to Spring Training, including Reed Johnson, Todd Wellemeyer, and Scott Moore. The team decided to bring in multiple veterans they knew from previous stints.
Rockies, Ian Stewart Avoid Arbitration
FRIDAY: Stewart will earn $2.22875MM, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). That's below the $2.375MM midpoint, closer to the Rockies' submission. MLBTR has learned that if Stewart stays healthy and reaches his incentives next season he will earn $2.35MM.
THURSDAY: The Rockies have avoided arbitration with third baseman Ian Stewart, MLBTR has learned. With salary submissions of $2.6MM and $2.15MM, the sides had been $450K apart on the Super Two player's first arbitration year. Stewart's settlement amount is not yet known, but his agreement means the Rockies have taken care of all their arbitration eligible players according to our Arb Tracker.
Stewart, 26 in April, hit .256/.338/.443 in 441 plate appearances in 2010. He projects as the Rockies' starting third baseman once again, though they've got backup options in Jose Lopez, Ty Wigginton, and Joe Crede.
Cubs Agree To Deals With Pair Of Cuban Players
The Cubs have reached agreements to sign a pair of Cuban players, MLBTR's Nick Collias has learned. They'll be signing outfielder Ruby Silva for $1.2MM as well as catcher Yaniel Cabezas for $500K.
Silva, 21, is a versatile left-handed hitter who played center field for the champion Havana Vaqueros in the 48th Cuban National series. He can play all three outfield positions and perhaps even the middle infield. He's a good athlete who draws praise as a plus runner with a plus arm. He could begin his pro career in low A ball with the Peoria Chiefs.
Cabezas is a catch-and-throw backstop who reminds some of a young Yadier Molina, though his bat has improved in the last year.
Beverly Hills Sports Council Finds Relief
The summer defection of agent Dan Lozano left Beverly Hills Sports Council without Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, and others. Not long after, Dan Uggla and Jayson Werth departed. However, BHSC recovered from a disappointing summer to put together a respectable winter, mainly by finding more dollars or years than expected for their relievers.
We know the new Blue Jays regime loves draft picks, and in early November they chose a $750K buyout and a pick over paying Kevin Gregg $4.5MM in 2011 or $8.75MM in 2011-12. Beverly Hills ended up getting Gregg the first multiyear deal of his career, a two-year, $10MM deal with the Orioles with a vesting option that could bring the total to $16-20MM over three years. Perhaps the Jays simply valued the sandwich pick more than whatever trade value Gregg would have had on a one-year deal, but it's also possible that they didn't expect him to do that well on the open market.
In October, I pegged Brian Fuentes for a one-year deal in the $4MM range, yet he has reportedly agreed to a two-year contract worth more than $5MM per season. I feel like this contract might have been panned had the Astros signed it, whereas with Oakland some might find ways to justify it after the fact. Regardless, it's clearly a player-friendly deal.
41-year-old lefty Arthur Rhodes received a $4.1MM guarantee from the Rangers, the best salary of his career. With good health, he'll end up getting $7.9MM over two years. In November, the Reds were unwilling to take the risk that Rhodes, a Type A free agent, would accept an offer of arbitration. Since he only earned $2MM in 2010, it's difficult to believe Rhodes would have topped $4.1MM for 2011. The implication: Rhodes is another BHSC client who got more on the open market than his old team expected in November.
Will Ohman was coming off a pair of minor league deals, but this winter he snagged a two-year, $4MM deal with the White Sox. The second guaranteed year was a win for the agency. The entire relief market has been inflated from the start this offseason, but BHSC is still brokering player-friendly deals in January.
Beverly Hills also hammered out deals for Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Octavio Dotel, and Brad Hawpe this winter. They've got unfinished business in Todd Coffey and Chad Durbin. After reaching an agreement on a $3.3MM second-year arbitration salary for Ryan Theriot, BHSC has five arbitration cases: Hunter Pence, Ryan Ludwick, Darren O'Day, Jesse Litsch, and Andy Sonnanstine.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits
We decided to come up with a punchier name for our Odds & Ends posts, and Quick Hits is the winner. Thanks to MLBTR's Zach Links for the suggestion.
One other change you will notice is that we will be bolding the team names in the Quick Hits posts so that you can more quickly jump to the bullet that pertains to your club.
Brewers Sign Takashi Saito
The Brewers signed reliever Takashi Saito to a one-year deal, the team announced today. The contract guarantees Saito $1.75MM and gives him the chance to earn $1.5MM more through incentives, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Saito has a chance to match last year's $3.2MM salary through appearance and roster bonuses; his physical is already done. Nikkan Sports was first to report the possible deal, which NPB Tracker passed along on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement. Saito is represented by CAA.
Saito, 41 in February, posted a 2.83 ERA, 11.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, and 43.6% groundball rate in 54 innings for the Braves this year. He dealt with hamstring and shoulder injuries and has had serious elbow issues in the past, so the deal reflects the health uncertainty despite Saito's fantastic numbers.
The Brewers' bullpen ranked 12th in the NL with a 4.48 ERA this year. Saito will join John Axford, Kameron Loe, LaTroy Hawkins, and Sean Green in the 2011 pen. Todd Coffey, Trevor Hoffman, Carlos Villanueva, and others have departed.
Cubs, Rays Have Discussed Matt Garza
10:53am: Major League sources tell David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com that the teams have discussed Garza, but other names have not been exchanged. Though the Cubs are willing to part with talent for the right-hander, the Rays would have to be overwhelmed to move him, Kaplan reports.
8:32am: The Sun-Times report surprised club officials, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). The Rays want a lot for Garza and may be inclined to wait until July. Earlier this morning, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported that a deal for Garza is not close and is more likely to occur in July than now (Twitter links).
7:41am: The Cubs are close to trading for Rays righty Matt Garza, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. He says the Cubs "appear to have moved past the Rangers" in their efforts to acquire the 27-year-old.
Garza has been a hot topic all winter, with teams like the Nationals and Brewers also inquiring. A deal has seemed unlikely up to this point, with manager Joe Maddon showing amusement with Winter Meetings trade rumors and saying, "Matt Garza will be pitching for us." Executive VP Andrew Friedman indicated later that he's open-minded to any trade that meets the team's objectives, but he values his starting pitching depth highly.
Garza posted a 3.91 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 35.8% groundball rate in 204 2/3 innings this year. He could earn $6MM+ in arbitration for 2011 and is under team control through '13 due to his Super Two status. The Brewers had to give up Brett Lawrie to acquire Shaun Marcum from Toronto; in theory the price for Garza should be higher due to an extra year of control.
With Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Tom Gorzelanny, Randy Wells, and Carlos Silva already penciled into the Cubs' rotation, acquiring Garza would give the Cubs flexibility to move a starter unless Gorzelanny or Wells is part of the deal.
MLBTR Team Coordinators
MLBTR features tons of ways to follow an individual team. Using the Dodgers as an example, we have the regular team archive, team Twitter, team Facebook, team RSS, and a team forum.
If you're a social media and MLBTR junkie who would like to contribute to the site, please apply for one of the 30 "team coordinator" positions. Your duty will be the promotion of the five team feeds named above for one specific club. You'll be in charge of the team Facebook page, moderating and adding relevant hot stove links and polls regularly. This is an unpaid position, so if it sounds like work to you there's no need to inquire.
If you are interested, please email mlbtrcoordinators@gmail.com with your team(s) of choice in the subject line and a few sentences explaining your qualifications in the body. We can't guarantee a response, but we appreciate all inquiries.